Killings figure asks for review

A man who pleaded guilty to running over and killing three young people near Southeastern Louisiana University four years ago is asking a court to review his case.

Though he never appealed the February 2011 conviction, Derek Quebedeaux, 25, is now asking for post-conviction relief of his 12-year sentence, saying police entered his home without a warrant even though they were not in “hot pursuit” the night the victims were struck.

He maintains the statements he gave to police were not valid evidence.

Judge Doug Hughes set April 2 to hear the case in 21st Judicial District Court in Amite.

At the time of Quebedeaux’s arrest, police said he was driving drunk when he ran into a crowd of pedestrians and killed two SLU students and a former SLU football player, who also was Quebedeaux’s roommate. Two other pedestrians were injured.

All the casualties were among a group walking back to their residences after leaving a nightclub several blocks from the campus, authorities said.

Police said Quebedeaux drove from the spot where his vehicle struck the pedestrians to his residence about 100 yards away, where police arrested him.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular homicide.

District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said Friday he doesn’t think Quebedeaux’s petition has merit because the motion to suppress the confession was “fully litigated prior to the plea.”

Quebedeaux also asks in the petition that he be given credit for time he spent under home incarceration.

Perrilloux said he thinks the law in this case favors the prosecution’s position that time spent in home incarceration prior to conviction should not be credited as time served during a subsequent sentence.

The three people killed were identified as Maxime Profit, a graduate student from France; Beth Boudreaux, a sophomore from Loranger; and Thurman Lowe III, a former SLU football player.